With his dreams of a fairytale Kona finale crushed on the Queen K, three-time IRONMAN World Champion Patrick Lange could perhaps have been forgiven for feeling a little self-absorbed in his post-race DNF pain on Saturday.
Eager to give it his absolute all in one ‘final dance’ on the Big Island, the German athlete who still holds the 7:35:53 record around this most brutal of courses was forced to admit defeat after suffering cramps early on in the bike leg.
Calling it quits at the top of Hāwī, Lange clearly looked distraught as the live footage showed him – with head in hands – seemingly unable to process the agony of what was surely one of the cruellest DNFs on a horrible, hot and humid day in Hawaii.
‘Devastated’ that his Kona dream was over
Friend and compatriot Jan Frodeno, while working as a co-commentator for IRONMAN, revealed a short time later that, having spoken to Lange, he was ‘devastated’ that his last-ever appearance at Kona would end prematurely.
What the former champion did next, however, was not only a testament to his character and incredible humility, but it also displayed a level of togetherness and community spirit at the heart of triathlon.
After getting changed and setting his own disappointment aside, he returned to the course to help at one of the aid stations, handing out water and encouragement to those age-groupers who needed it – some giving him a double look of astonishment, others completely oblivious that a three-time champ had just handed them a cup of H2O.
When he did finally take to Instagram to explain his DNF, he was also keen to turn the attention away from himself and instead thank those who had ‘shared the dreams and sacrifices’ to help him prepare for one last crack at Kona.
‘Incredibly tough decision to call it a day’
“My day started with a solid swim in the first pack, putting me exactly where I wanted to be for my last dance on the island,” he said. “But as soon as I hit the Queen K, my muscles started tightening up. Despite backing off the power and taking in plenty of fluids, the cramps kept getting worse.
“By the time I reached Hāwī, I had to face the reality that running a marathon in that condition simply wasn’t possible. So I made the incredibly tough decision to call it a day.
“This is not how I wanted my final Kona race to end. But sometimes, sport has other plans. Right now, it hurts. I need some time to process this one.”
One athlete who did recognise Lange at the aid station was Adam Holz, and he posted a reply which no doubt echoed what many others were thinking.
He said: “You gave me water on Palani, and I was in disbelief that it was you. Thanks for all you’ve done and continue to do for our sport. Few give back like that, especially at your level. Enjoy a well-earned retirement, champ. Cheers 🍻”
A later post from Lange went deeper into the difficulty that he was having in accepting that his Kona dreams had been shattered in such a devastating way with the brutal DNF.
“Before we leave this island, I want to give a HUGE shout-out to the people behind me as an athlete,” he wrote. “Not achieving what I came here for is incredibly hard to accept. But what hurts even more is knowing how much time, energy, love and commitment the people around me have invested to get me to that start line in the best possible condition.
‘I could never do this alone’
“You all gave everything you could to help me succeed. And even though race day didn’t go the way we had hoped, none of that effort, dedication or love was in vain.
“Because this journey has always been about so much more than the result on a race day. It’s about the people, the shared dreams, the sacrifices, the belief in each other and the memories we create along the way.”
And as he started to contemplate a life retired from competitive triathlon – he will bow out with one more appearance at Challenge Roth – he issued one more note of thanks to the team who had been there with him through thick and thin over the course of a decade-long professional career.
“I could never do this alone. And I wouldn’t want to,” he said. “Thank you for standing by me, believing in me and supporting me, no matter what. On the good days, when everything comes together, and especially on the hard ones, when it doesn’t.
“I’m incredibly grateful to have you all in my corner. More than words can express. The result is only one part of the story. The people behind it are everything.”
